Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellmark
Yeah, pretty much no sex, there can be some violence but isn't too graphic. Adult themes, but cleaned up some to be suitable for teens.
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I'd have to disagree with this. A lot of imprints are moving towards 'edgy' YA, which doesn't shy away from sex or violence, although the presentation might be different than adult works.
The YA label is a marketing strategy, nothing more. It's a publisher's way of pointing out that a book may appeal to high school readers, and it can encompass everything from simplistic teen romances to dark and gritty vampires.
As mentioned above, the age of the protagonist is a strong determining factor. (Because teenagers don't like to read about forty-year-olds. Go figure.) Fortunately, many forty-year-olds don't mind reading about teens, and a number of YA titles have appealed to readers across the board. (Anne McCaffrey's DragonSinger trilogy comes to mind.)